House committee adopts hearing procedures, sets March 17 commencement for Weinberg ethics case

A House committee on Monday adopted a set of procedural guidelines and penciled in March 17 to commence a formal ethics hearing requested by Representative Weinberg, the panel said. The committee said the proceeding will focus on two allegations for which it found probable cause: inappropriate comments directed at Representative Bradley and alleged use of a master key to access unauthorized areas of the Capitol.

The chair said the session was held under House Rule 49 D and that the committee must begin the formal hearing within 14 days of Weinberg’s request. "I want to make it clear that today's meeting is not commencement of the formal hearing process," the chair said, but the panel agreed to adopt rules and schedule a public commencement so the formal process can meet the Rule 49D deadline.

The committee reviewed a memorandum prepared by Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) and directed members to Appendix A — a consolidated list of suggested rules — as the basis for the committee’s procedures. "We tried to also include other options based on the other states," OLLS counsel Ed DiCecco said while describing the memo the office provided to the committee.

Among the procedures the committee agreed on: witness and exhibit lists will be exchanged in advance, witnesses will be sworn under oath, and the committee may issue subpoenas where necessary to compel testimony or records. Representative Mabry urged a short exchange window to avoid delay: "I was gonna suggest that the 3 day timeline recommended there would be the best," she said. Members clarified they intend that to mean calendar days.

Members debated and generally limited the scope of admissible evidence to items that are "germane, relevant and probative" of the two allegations on which probable cause was found. Several members warned against allowing broad character evidence. "If it's necessary for impeachment and it bears on the witness's credibility, I think that we can make that determination at the time," Representative Woodrow said; "general character evidence probably should be avoided," he added.

The committee also agreed on an order of proceedings. Because Weinberg requested the hearing, he will be allowed to present first, followed by committee questioning and then the committee’s witnesses, with opportunities for redirect and rebuttal. Representatives debated the length of openings and closings; the group settled on brief openings (about 10–15 minutes) and a similar, limited closing time.

The panel directed OLLS and staff to compile and prescreen potential witnesses and documentary evidence related to the two allegations and to follow up on leads from the complainant, Representative Bradley. "We want staff to screen some of these witnesses, to make sure that the knowledge they might be bringing forward is relevant to the two allegations," the chair said. OLLS cautioned the committee that some offices (for example, certain human resources records or security materials) may contain confidential information and may not be useful to question further.

On scheduling, the committee penciled in March 17 as the formal commencement (07:30–9:00) to adopt and publish the final rules and then continue the hearing to later dates for evidence and testimony. Members discussed March 20 as a potential full hearing day and noted March 23 as a likely date to finalize and publicly share the witness list. OLLS warned that if witnesses decline to appear, the committee will need to approve subpoenas and ensure proper service.

The committee emphasized decorum: witnesses will be treated respectfully, testimony will be taken under oath, and the rules allow the committee discretion to limit repetitive or irrelevant material. The chair instructed staff to return with proposed witness compilations and to be prepared to present those materials so the committee can finalize lists at an upcoming meeting.

Next steps: the committee will publicly adopt the finalized procedural rules on March 17 and expects to exchange witness and exhibit lists in advance of testimony dates; staff were asked to produce screened witness and exhibit compilations for committee review and to prepare any subpoena materials if needed.